and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them.I read this, and my mental voice went "huh?" This may be one where a more thorough language study is needed to really understand what's being talked about, but since I don't have those resources immediately available, I'll have to take a logical inference.
God made His covenant with Abraham and family, and He communicated with them, but He never gave them his name. That is of significance because at this time, names had great power. Names identified a person's traits, their characteristics, even their personalities. This is evidenced in how some people's names could change (e.g. Abram/Abraham, Jacob/Israel). As the person changed, so could what they were known as. The closest we come to that today are titles and honorifics.
God identified Himself to Abraham's children as the God of their fathers, something that they would know him, but never gave His proper name. Not to put too fine a point on it, but how God identified himself is the same as we often think of "the janitor" or "the cashier" -- it was an identifier of what He did, not who He is, and that left a separation between Him and them.
However, now God gives His name to Moses and the people, and that signifies a change in the connection, in the relationship between them. These are the people who would know God for what He is and who He is, not just for what He did to help them. God is going to be personal with them, in a way that He never had before. That was the big deal in this passage, as Moses is doubting and the people are dismissive. God is going to reveal Himself in a way that will leave no doubt as to how much He cares about them and their future.
No comments:
Post a Comment